1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a brake control device for controlling a regenerative braking force, and more specifically, a brake control device that can control the regenerative braking force without making a driver feel very uncomfortable even when operation amount detection means for detecting an operation amount of a brake pedal is broken down.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A brake control device for controlling a regenerative braking force causes a rotary electric machine to generate a regenerative braking force corresponding to an operation amount of a brake pedal. The operation amount of the brake pedal is detected by operation amount detection means (stroke sensor), and a regenerative braking force corresponding to the operation amount of the brake pedal detected is generated by the rotary electric machine.
A technique is proposed for controlling the regenerative braking force of the rotary electric machine by using two operation amount detection means (stroke sensors) for detecting the operation amount of the brake pedal, and an operation sensing means (stop lamp switch) for sensing the operation of the brake pedal. When one of the two operation amount detection means is broken down, the other detection means and the operation sensing means are operated to detect the operation amount of the brake pedal, thereby controlling the regenerative braking force. According to this technique, the regenerative braking force corresponding to the operation amount of the brake pedal is generated by the rotary electric machine even when one of the two operation amount detection means is broken down. As a result, even when either of the two operation amount detection means is broken down, this technique can reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling (see, for example, patent document 1).
However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-149797) includes two operation amount detection means, which leads to a high cost and a complicated control procedure as compared to a technique with only one operation amount detection means.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstances, and it is an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a brake control device that can reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling even when the operation amount detection means is broken down without increasing the cost and without making the control procedure complicated.